Competition in Animals

What is meant by competition and why do animals compete with

each other.

What qualities are needed in order to become a successful

competitor.

Learning Outcomes

• All students will know that animals have to compete to survive.

• Most will be able to describe the features that make an animal a successful competitor and suggest the factors for which an animal is competing in a given environment.

• Some will be able to explain why certain features make an animal a successful competitor.

Key Definitionscommunity – All the different types of organisms

within an ecosystem.

population – The number of one particular species within a specific area.

competition – The struggle for resources between individuals of the same or different species.

habitat – The physical, non-living part of an ecosystem.

ecosystem – A specific type of environment and all the organisms living within it.

What is competition?All living things need natural resources, but the problem is that there is not enough for everyone. This means that individuals have to fight for them in order to survive.

This struggle for resources is called competition.

Competition occurs between members of different species. This is called interspecific competition.

Who competes?

Competition also occurs between members of the same species. This is called intraspecific competition.

There are four resources for which animals compete. What are they?

What do animals compete for?

food

mates

water

land (territory)

Which resource is not relevant for interspecific competition?

Members of different species will not compete for mates.

less competition

population rises

Competition and population sizeThe size of a population varies due to factors such as disease, migration and predation.

Intraspecific competition generally has a stabilizing effect on a population. Why is this?

population falls

more competition

A summary of competition

Ecological terms

Multiple-choice quiz